Rear wheel support for a motor vehicle



'SBS T1937. H J. VAN DOORNE ET AL. 2,098,894

REAR WHEEL SUPPORT EOE A MOTOR VEHICLE .Filed Sept. 26, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet l m 0MM E MLS No 9 l937e H. J. VAN DooRNE ET Ax. 2,098,894

BEAR WHEEL SUPPORT FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE Nov. 9, 1937. H. J. VAN DooRNE Er AL 2,093,894

REAR WHEEL SUPPORT FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE Filed sept. 26, 1935 Y 3 sheets-sheet s N a R f w N5 I V l j; r y f 1 f f J r I N l Q m i u z de s! a f2 H a if Y... g I' *mimi- @i V @Wm Patented Nov. 9, l1937' v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2.098.804 BEAR WHEEL surroa'r ron A Moron vnmcui Hubertus Jophus van Doorne, Deurne, and

Pieter'llerman van der Trappen, Breda, Neth- Applieation September 26, 1985, Serial No. 42.300.

In the Netherlands September' 29, 1934 s owns. (ci. isc-zit) Our invention relates to a rear axle support axle drive shaft whilst the other end of each of for a motor vehicle having a member adapted t the propeller shafts carries a bevel pinion which rock around the axis of the rear axle housing, meshes with a bevel gear connected to the road said rocking member being equipped near-each wheel drive shaft.

of its ends with means for receiving one or more The drawings show by way of example one em- 5 road wheels and containing driving means for bodiment of a rear axle support according to our said wheels. invention.

In'known rear wheel supports of this kind the Fig. 1 lis a side view of the rear part of a motor rocking member is adapted to swivel around a vehicle chassis a part of the rocking member be- 1 rear axle housing of special design; the driving ing shown in section. 1 means which are arranged in the box-shaped Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line rocking member comprise a gear wheel secured to II ]I in Fig. l. the end of the rear axle. shaft, two intermediate A Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line gear wheels, one of which being arranged in front III-III in Fig. 2.

of the mst-mentioned gear wheel and'the other The drawings show a frame I which by means 15 behind this gear wheel and both meshing with of springs 2 and a spring seat 3 bears upon a rear the same, whilst each of the intermediate gears is axle housing I. In order to transform the norma1 in mesh with a gear wheel secured to the shaft rear axle support to a support comprising a pluof each of the road wheels supporting the rocking rality of road wheels so that the motor vehicle is member. This driving system for theroad wheels adapted to be used on uneven ground, a carrier 5 20 v has thedrawback that the size of the gear wheels is secured (e. g. by means of rivets) to each of the must be comparatively large so that'the rocking ends of the rear laxle housing l. member must be large too and the whole system 'Ihe carrier l includes a cylindrical bearing suris very heavy this increasing the unsprung weight face 1 coaxial with the axle housing I and servin an undesirable way. A further drawback coning as a bearing for rocking member 8 which is 25 sists therein that it is not possible to remove by disposed normal to the axis of the housing 4. They adjustment any play which will be caused by wear carrier S is also provided with a bushing member of the gear wheels since the distances between all 5a adapted to snugly receive the housing 4, said of the gear shafts are invariable. bushing la being of substantial length. The

The purpose of our present invention is to prorigidity of carrier i is greatly increased by the 30 cure a rear axle support which is adapted to be provision of a bracket comprising three arms mounted on the normal rear axle housing of an bolted to the end of the enlarged portion of carexisting motor vehicle in order to transform the rier 5 adJacent the bearing surface' 1, said arms same in a simple, inexpensive and eillcient way terminating inV an annular portion 6a which emto a motor vehicle being supported at the rear braces the bushing member 5a of the carrier at 35 'by a plurality of driving road wheels in order to its end remote from the bearing surface 1. Thus be easily movable on uneven ground. A further the arm t and annular portionfa materially reinpurpose of our invention is to procure a rocking force the carriery i and insure that the bearing member with a driving system for the road wheels surface 1 thereof will maintain the rocking memo of such a kind that the unsprung weight is as ber at all times normal to the axis of the hous- 40 low as possible and any play which might occur in ing l. At the end of the cylindrical part 1 a radial the driving means is readily adjustable'. flange 9 is formed, the inside I0 of which and a According to our invention the rocking member radial surface ii at the .other side of the cylinisA adapted to swivel around a carrier which is drical portion 1 being machined in order to form a intended to be rigidly Connected t0 the real' axle thrust faces for the sides of the rocking mem- 45 housing of an existing vehicle. said carrier havber, the radial thrust surfaces in and il of the ins bearing and thrust surfaces coaxial with said bearing surface 1 cooperating with the sides of axle housing and suitably reinforced in a simple the rocking member s to prevent axial displaceand eillcient manner tomaintain the surfaces coment of the rocking member. Grooves are aro axial with the housing, said surfaces carrying the ranged in the guiding faces ill and i I containing rocking member which is disposed normal to the packing rings i2 for preventing leaking out of oil housing. This rocking member may contain profrom, and access of dust to the bearing surfaces. peller shafts of adjustable length for the road 'I'he housing formed by the cylindrical part 1 of wheels with bevel pinions meshing with a bevel the carrier, is closed by a cover I3 xed by means gear which is adapted to be fastened to the rear oi screws. 55

'I'he rocking member 8 which is adapted to swivel around the cylindrical portion of the carrier 5 is box-shaped and consists of two halves connected by bolts I4. A part I5 of each of the rocking member halves is machined cylindrically at the inside and is adapted to swivel around the carrier. I'he part I5 of the rocking member is connected with the outer wall by a rib I6. This rib acts at the same time as a support for the tubular part formed in the centerplane of the member and containing the drive shaft for the road wheels.

The portion of the axle shaft I,1 extending beyond the axle housing 4 carries a bevel gear I3 which is secured by means of a nut I3 and a key 20. A bevel pinion 2I meshes with this bevel gear and has a shaft 22 which is supported in the tubular part of the rocking memberlby means of ball bearings 23 and 24. The shaft 22 has a splined end 25 which is slidably arranged within a splined sleeve 26. This sleeve meshes with a second splined end 21 of a'shaft 23 which is supported by ball bearings 29 and III and forms one unitary part with a bevel gear 3l.

Each of the ends ofthe rockingv member 3 is closed at the side by a cover'32. The rocking member 8 and the cover 32 contain ball bearings 33 and 34 which rotatably support the wheel shaft 35. The portion of this shaftv extending beyond the cover 32 carries a hub 33 fixed thereon by means of a nut 36 and a key 31, a brake drum 40 being fixed by means of bolts 33. These bolts serve-at the same time for securing a wheel 4I which in Figures 2 and 3 is shown without a tire, while in Fig. 1 the hub, the brake drum and the wheel are not shown in order to show the parts lying therebehind.

A hub 42 is Welded upon the wheel shaft 35 and a bevel gear 43 is riveted to this hub. The bevel gear 43 meshes with the above-mentioned bevel pinion 3|, so that the wheel shaft 35 is driven by the rear axle shaft I1 through the bevel gears I8 and 2|, the shaft 22, the sleeve 26, the shaft 28 and the bevel gears 3l and 43. In order to obtain a silent drive the bevel gears are preferably made ashelical gears.

Any play which might occur in the drive may be removed in the following way: The inner rings of the ball bearings 24 and 29 are secured to the shafts 22 and 28 respectively by nuts 44 and 45. The outer rings of these ball bearings are in provided with openings 43 which allow 'displacement of the ball bearings 23 whenethe rocking member is swivell'ing. It is necessary to limit the Y rocking movement ofthis member in such a'way that there is no danger that the ball bearings 23 would touch the edges of the opening 46.

The gear ratio may besuch that after removing the rear wheels of the motor vehicle and securing the rear axle support according to the invention, the road wheels are driven-with a greater reduction than the reduction of the normal wheel drive. Consequently the motor vehicle being made adapted for use on rough ground, will not develop such a speed as on the road but develops a greater pulling force. It is also possible to drive the wheels at the normal speed but to use a reduction gear arranged within the rocking vextension piece of the rocking member.

member when ground conditions make this necessary or desirable. f,

Since the Wheels are rotating always in the same plane it is possible to lay an endless band around the wheels of each rocking member so that the vehicle is still better adapted to move on trackless ground. Further it is possible to arrange a guiding roller for the endless band in front of the foremost wheel and secured to an This roller has a smaller diameter than the road wheels and is arranged at such a height that the front portion of the endless band is inclined so that the vehicle is prevented from digging itself into soft ground.

According to our invention each wheel shaft may be prolonged and may carry road wheels arranged at both sides of the rocking member so that each rocking member is supported by the rocking member are'adapted to swivel aroundl an axis which is perpendicular to the rocking axis of the rocking member. -It is evident that also on uneven ground no torsional load is exerted on the rocking member. Y

The device according to our invention with a carrier 5 being secured to the rear axle housing a portion 1 of the carrier projecting beyond the axle housing and serving as a bearing for the rocking member, has the advantage that in cross direction the bearing is as near as possible to the point of support on the ground. Consequently the torsipnal load on the rocking member is kept as low as possible andthe bearing is yloaded in the most favorable way. The great advantage of the support according to our invention is this that the device may be secured in a very simple way to the rear axle housing of an existing vehicle.

We do not limit our invention to the embodiments shown in the drawings for obviously same may be modied within the scope of the claims also the can'ier and other elements of the device may be made in separate parts where desired.

We claim:

1. Means for transforming a motor vehicle having a conventional axle housing and having a driven wheeled axle journaled therein into a motor tractor having a pluralityof driven road wheels at each side of the vehicle, comprising preformed carrier means having a portion adapted `to be flxedly secured to the ends of the axle housing when the axle wheels are removed; said carrier means having bearing surfaces coaxial with said housing; reinforcing meansconnecting said portion and surfaces; rocking 'members journaled on the bearing surfaces; road wheels carried by the respective rocking members adjacent their ends; driving members adapted to be mounted on the ends of the axle; and means Vfor driving the road wheels from the driving members.

2. In transforming means as set forth in claim 1, said portion of the carrier means comprising a bushing member snugly receiving the end portions of the axle housing, and said bearing surfaces being provided with thrust surfaces; and said rocking members having cooperating bearing and thrust portions whereby the rocking members may swivel on the carrier members but are prevented from axial movement thereon.

3. In transforming means as set forth in claim 1, said portion of the carrier means comprising a. bushing member snugly receiving the end por- 180. MOTOR vEHlcLhs,

tions of the axle housing and said bearing surfaces being provided with thrust surfaces, and said rocking members each comprising abutting sectionsY having complementary bearing and thrust surfaces in their abutting ends adapted to embrace those of the bushing members; and means for securing the sections together.

4. In transforming means as set forth in claim 1, gears adapted to be mounted on the ends of the axle; gears journaled in the rocking members for driving the road Wheels; and propeller vvv' ull shafts journaled in the rocking members carrying pinions meshing with the said gears.

5. In transforming means as set forth in claim 1, gears adapted to be mounted on the ends of the axle; gears journaled in the rocking members for driving the road wheels; propeller shafts journaled in the rocking members carrying pinions meshing with the said gears; and means for compensating for wear of the meshing gears and pinions.

H. J. v. DOORNE.

P. H. v. n. TRAPPEN. 

